What do a struggling New York writer, a failed British diplomat, a disillusioned aristocrat, and a weary Catholic priest have in common? Each reveals, in his own way, the brutal cost of addiction-and possible paths toward recovery. Ascetic theology meets literary fiction in this exploration of alcoholism and sobriety through the lens of four twentieth-century novels. Through the manipulative self-destruction of Don Birnam (The Lost Weekend), the tragic descent of Geoffrey Firmin (Under the Volcano), the spiritual collapse of Sebastian Flyte (Brideshead Revisited), and the hopeful redemption of Fr. Hugh Kennedy (The Edge of Sadness), readers are invited to consider a deeply Catholic approach to addiction and healing: one rooted in spiritual and moral discipline, honest self-examination, and daily conversion. Both realistic and redemptive, Staying Sober One Story at a Time is a unique guide for anyone seeking sobriety, supporting someone who is, or longing for a deeper spiritual response to the wounds of addict
